Always A Bridesmaid
by Northern-Southern Belle
Summary: Perpetual bridesmaid Belle French gets all her bridesmaid dresses made by Rumplestiltskin. But when it comes time for her to take her seventh trip down the aisle, she asks him to be her date, which leads to her discovering the one man that she feels she'll be able to have a future with after one bad date too many. One-shot.


Disclaimer: Only plot belongs to me.

"Well, here I am again," Belle said as she came into the dress shop. "Just got another bridesmaid recruitment notice, and I figure I've come here all the other times, so why change a pattern that works?"

"And what number is this wedding?" Rumple asked as he grinned at her from behind the counter. "The fifth? The sixth?"

"Seventh," Belle got out. "Pretty soon, I'll be the only one of my friends who isn't married. Not that that matters to me, of course. I don't need a man just to feel like I belong. Even though it would be nice. But I don't see any need to rush it. My books have kind of given me standards that I find hard for any real man to meet."

"Have they really?" Rumple asked as he came around the counter and then leaned an elbow on it. "Well, I'm sure you'll find someone eventually. Now, what's the color scheme this time? Please tell me that it's blue. That would look so good with your eyes." He paused. "Actually, it seems like _every_ color goes well with your eyes."

"That's very sweet," Belle smiled and blushed a little, taking a seat in one of the chairs by the counter. "But what can you do with orange? At least we get to pick what our dresses look like, even if the color scheme's already chosen for us. That's the bright side of all this."

"Do you have any ideas about what you want the dress to look like?" Rumple asked. "Or do you want to leave it all to me?"

"Oh, I'll let you handle it," Belle smiled. "You always do such a good job." She stood up. "Should I leave you to it, or do you need to take my measurements first?"

"No," Rumple shook his head with a grin and held his measuring tape in one hand. "Not unless you really believe something has changed since the last time I made you a dress, and it wasn't too long ago." He paused. "Unless you want me to do it because you don't have anywhere else to be and want to fill up the time."

"That's weird, isn't it?" Belle asked. "Is that weird?"

"No," Rumple shook his head. "I'm alone here myself most of the time, so I understand what it's like to want company and finding any excuse to get it."

They stood in silence and then Belle said, "This is going to sound very odd since we don't see each other a lot, but the wedding is three months from today. Would you be free to come with me? It's okay if you're not. You probably have lots of dresses to make and since you do it with the spinning wheel, it takes up your time." She turned away. "Never mind. It was a stupid question to ask. Forget I said anything."

"Oh, no!" Rumple cried and grabbed her hand. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Sure," Belle nodded. "I wouldn't mind hearing a secret."

"I only do _yours_ on the spinning wheel," Rumple told her in a hushed voice. "Everyone else's I do with magic. So I _should_ be able to come to the wedding with you, certainly. It would be no trouble at all. I would enjoy it very much." He went to the calendar that sat on the counter, flipped it forward and made note of the wedding that he would be attending with Belle three months hence, along with the fact that she needed a bridesmaid's dress in orange.

"There," he said stepping back and looking at his writing with satisfaction. "Now I won't forget." He paused. "Not that that's actually something you'd have to worry about. I wouldn't forget about you, Belle."

"Thank you," she told him. "So…see you in a week for my first fitting?"

"Yes," Rumple nodded. "That should work. See you then."

* * *

"Okay," Ariel said as she and Belle sat at a table on the beach and worked on the seating arrangement. "I'm gonna put you at the table with some of Eric's single friends. It might be good for you to have someone to talk to. Don't you think?"

"Actually, I have a date this time," Belle was pleased to tell her. "So I don't _need_ you to sit me at a table full of Eric's friends."

"Oh?" Ariel asked. "Who is it? Do I know him?"

"It's no one you would know," Belle replied. "Mr. Gold who makes all my dresses."

"Really?" Ariel asked, her voice full of excitement. "That's wonderful. I've always wondered where all your dresses come from! He does good work!"

"He does, doesn't he?" Belle smiled. "Well, you'll get to see him on your wedding day. And I promise that whatever dress he makes won't take attention away from you."

"Oh, you know I'm not worried about that," Ariel assured her. "In fact, I think part of the reason why people keep asking you to be a bridesmaid is not only because you're their friend and they want you with them on their special day, but also because they want to see what sort of creation your Mr. Gold has come up with this time."

"Well, I see him for a fitting tomorrow," Belle told her. "I'll be sure to pass on your regards."

"I would love that," Ariel told her. "Thank you."

* * *

"Do you still trust me?" Rumple asked as they both stood in front of the mirror and looked at the finished orange dress she wore. The wedding was two days away and they were making last minute adjustments to her dress. "Or did I take it too far? Cause you know we can always start from the beginning again and do something else."

"No," Belle shook her head. "I like it." The dress had a sweetheart neckline with ruffles around the edge, a bow at the waist, and the poufy skirt came to rest just above her knees. "Although, maybe we could move the bow behind me. Cause between the ruffles and the bow being in plain sight, it's a bit busy."

"No problem," Rumple replied easily and zapped the bow to the back. "Better?"

"Yes," Belle nodded. "Much. I like it!" She then looked at his face, which showed definite disapproval. "What? You don't like it?"

"Well, you told me that your friends enjoy the spectacle of what I do and this is a bit underwhelming," Rumple told her. "Don't you think so?"

"I suppose," Belle nodded. "But you don't have time to make a whole new dress."

"I don't need to make a whole new dress," he said and zapped the skirt, making it much wider and made of layers of tulle that were different shades of orange. "There you go," He said with a chuckle. "Now no one will miss you going down the street, will they?"

"No," Belle agreed, feeling a little shocked. "They certainly will not." She then spun around the best she could and asked him if it seemed like there were any more adjustments that needed to be made.

"Well, does any part of it feel tight on you?" he asked. "Because it looks fine from where I'm standing. And I'm enjoying the view very much, if you don't mind my saying."

"I don't mind at all," Belle smiled. "Thank you for the compliment." She studied her reflection and really focused on the feel of the dress. "It seems fine to me," she told him. "No more changes need to be made." She looked at the clock behind the counter that began to chime. "It's after one o'clock!" She said and blushed. "I didn't realize. Have you eaten today? If not, why don't you come to my house and have something?"

"Thank you," Rumple nodded and took her arm. "I would enjoy that. But do you want to change out of your dress first before we go?"

"Not yet," Belle shook her head. "I want to see what doors I can fit through and what doors I can't. But I _do_ need to get the dress I came in. Thanks for reminding me."

She got her clothes and he put the sign on the door that said he'd gone out to lunch. They drove to Belle's house and while she made up a plate of sandwiches and some tea, he wandered around and found a closet in the hallway that had all the other dresses he'd made for her hanging up nicely so they wouldn't get wrinkled, stained, or torn.

He looked at each dress with something that was almost like reverence as he ran his hands over the rainbow of fabrics: the red dress he'd made for Ruby's wedding to Doctor Whale, the yellow for Regina's to Doctor Hopper (being married had really lightened her up a lot). The silver for Granny's wedding to Geppetto (he hadn't seen that coming, but he should have. And it was nice for her to have someone that would be able to fix up the broken things at the diner.) For Snow and Charming's vow renewal, she'd worn purple, when his son had married Emma Swan, she'd worn pink (and he'd thought about asking her to be his date, but had decided against it at the last minute, although his tie had matched her dress), and then the real surprising one: Leroy finally agreeing to marry Nova (there had been many battles with the Blue Fairy before that was allowed to happen, he knew), which had led to a blue dress with little sparkly things all over the bodice.

"I always hoped that you would come to a wedding with me," Belle's voice sounded out all of a sudden. He started badly, dropped his hand from the blue dress, and then turned around to apologize for snooping around in her closet.

"It's fine," Belle told him and began touching the skirts of the dresses just as he had been doing. "You made all of these and it's not like you're looking at my unmentionables." She chuckled awkwardly. "The tea is in the kitchen." Then she held the plate out to him. "And would you like a sandwich?"

"Yes, I would _love_ a sandwich," Rumple smiled and took one of the tiny sandwiches off the plate and followed her to the kitchen to get some tea. Her apartment was small and cozy with furniture that some would consider fussy and pastels coloring every wall.

They sat down in the dining room and Belle went to get the tea.

"I'm really glad you decided to come with me to this wedding," she told him. "I wish we could have done it much earlier, especially when Neal married Emma, but…better late than never, right?"

"They _do_ say that the seventh time is the charm," Rumple agreed.

"I have another reason why I'm glad you're coming with me to this wedding," Belle confessed and took his hand. "If you weren't, I would have had to sit at a table with a bunch of Eric's friends. Ariel's so sweet, but she's always trying to set me up and sailor types aren't really my thing."

Rumple chuckled. "No, it really doesn't seem like they would be. I'm pleased to be there for you so you won't have to sit through a bunch of meaningless chatter just because people feel you need to be paired up with someone? Even if that's true, it should at least be someone of your choosing."

"You know, that's exactly what I think," Belle nodded. "And that's exactly why I'm going with you."

* * *

The day of the wedding Rumple arrived at Belle's house with a rose in hand. "Hello," he said with a smile. "I know this is red and it clashes with your outfit, but I want you to know that I think you're beautiful and I'll be looking at you and not the bride."

"Well, aren't you sweet?" Belle blushed and took the rose to put in a vase of water. "You made good time. We still have a while before we have to get to the wedding."

"That was my plan," Rumple told her. "Since you'll be busy being a bridesmaid, I won't see you much, so I wanted to take the time now."

Belle blushed again. "You keep saying such sweet things to me and I'm not gonna be motivated to go to the wedding at all because I'll just want to stay here with you and listen to you talk."

Rumple shrugged. "I wouldn't mind that," he said. "Would you?"

"No, in all honesty." Belle shook her head. "Oh, my goodness. How stupid am I? Come in! You don't just have to stand in the doorway."

Rumple came in and they ate a leisurely breakfast together before departing for Ariel's wedding at the beach.

Although the wedding was about Ariel, as it should have been, the reception was all about Belle. As they had predicted, everyone was excited about the dress and mobbed her because they were eager to know where she'd gotten it.

"He made it up for me," Belle told them. "I think I mentioned that to you before, haven't I?"

"Well, if you have, we completely forgot about it," Ariel told her. Then she looked at Rumple. "I think I have some dresses I'd like for you to make for me," she said. "Or are you too busy?"

"No," Rumple shook his head. "I can always make time."

Belle smiled and stepped back as all her friends crowded around him and shouted out orders for dresses and he made up appointments for them. She was so glad to see that he was finally getting the recognition he deserved. It was about time.

* * *

"I hope my friends didn't overwhelm you today," Belle said that night as they made dinner together. "I know they can be a bit much sometimes. Especially since they knocked you into the water trying to get your attention. I hope it didn't ruin your suit."

"Oh, no," Rumple shook his head. "It's fine. I put a spell on all my suits to stop them from getting stained or otherwise ruined."

"That's smart," Belle told him. "Good idea. And I'm so glad you could come to have dinner with me. I would have thought you would want some time away from me by now."

"Oh, never!" Rumple shook his head and took her in his arms. "I want to take you out sometime myself. Somewhere that isn't the shop or your house. Somewhere out in public. Would you like that?"

"Yes!" Belle nodded as she paused tasting the sauce. "I would love that."

"Good," Rumple nodded. "And who knows? Maybe that might lead to me making your wedding dress someday."

"Yes," Belle smiled. "That is a distinct possibility."

 **The End**


End file.
